Families of the stranded crew members of “Banglar Samriddhi” in Ukraine have alleged that the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) is not doing enough to ensure the safety of the sailors. They have appealed to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to intervene in this regard.
The call for the prime minister’s intervention came on Thursday, a day after a crew member of the ship was killed in a missile attack.
Engineer Hadisur Rahman, killed in the attack, was among 29 Bangladeshi crew members who have remained stranded in the vessel stranded at the Ukrainian port of Olvia since February 22.
The family members of a sailor on the ship, Md Rukonuzzamn Rajib, told Dhaka Tribune that Rajib had been severely injured in the missile attack on Wednesday.
Hailing from Mymensingh, Rajib is a marine engineer, his elder brother Kamruzzaman Russel said.
He alleged that the BSC was not doing much in ensuring the safety of the crew members of the ship. He said that the sailors had already run out of food as the fridge in the vessel was not functioning due to a power cut.
Kamruzzaman also alleged that the sailors on the ship had informed family members that the BSC was not even maintaining communication with them.
The crew members told the families that they were not feeling safe at the dock and that they could come under attack again at any moment, Kamruzzaman said.
Family members of Rabiul Awal, a second engineer at the ship, on Thursday told journalists that the 32-year-old man had been stranded on the ship for the past 11 days.
Rabiul’s father, Hossain Ali, called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to arrange the safe relocation of his son.
Hossain Ali, a resident of Delduar upazila under Tangail district, also requested the government to arrange the safe return of his son to Bangladesh.
Rabiul’s elder brother, Dr Abdul Aziz, said that the BSC had informed the family that Rabiul was doing fine on the ship and that he was unharmed in the missile attack.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Ambassador to Poland Sultana Laila Hossain on Thursday told Dhaka Tribune that all sailors of the ship had been evacuated and taken to a shelter house two kilometers away from Olivia port.
She said the sailors had been instructed to take shelter in bunkers if the situation deteriorated there.
Besides, she said that the body of Hadisur Rahman was being preserved.
BSC Executive Director (Commerce) Piyush Datta told the media on Thursday that the crew members stranded on the ship could not be moved without ensuring their safety.
He said efforts were underway to rescue the sailors, who have been calling for their swift evacuation following the death of a fellow sailor.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, in his comments on the issue, said that the government was giving utmost importance to ensuring the safety of the stranded Bangladeshi crew members of “Banglar Samriddhi” in Ukraine.
"Extensive diplomatic level activities are going on to rescue them or shift them to a safer place," he said while briefing reporters at the secretariat.
